The Ministry of Economy announced a decline in GDP in April by 12%

According to the Ministry of Economic Development, the April result crosses out the growth that was achieved in the first quarter, when GDP grew by 1.8% in annual terms. According to the results of the January-April period, the indicator decreased by 1.9%. In the second quarter, the ministry expects a 9.5% drop in GDP.

The agency notes that the economic decline was affected by the non-working period introduced to combat coronavirus, as well as the “negative foreign economic situation” and restriction measures in the trading partner countries.

Consumer-oriented sectors of the economy have been hit harder than others, the ministry said. The volume of paid services provided to the population decreased by 37.9% against the March figure of 5.4%.

Over the entire year, the Ministry of Economy and the Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov forecast a drop in GDP by 5%, and the Central Bank - by 4-6%. The head of the ministry, Maxim Reshetnikov, also said that next year, GDP could grow to 7.8%.

According to the IMF forecast , global GDP in 2020 will decrease by 3% or more, and the Russian economy will decline by 5.5% in 2020.